Chapter 1718 — The Dream-Chasing Youth, Part One
The Herdsman of the Wasteland · Page 1 of 6
"Long Xiao is dead. I sense that the covenant of the Little Earth Lord between him and me has vanished."
Listening to the zither music of Heavenly Venerable Yue, Shen Mu suddenly spoke these words, and said with feeling: "I had hoped he might lead the beast realm and do battle with the Heavenly Court. He would have brought coal through the snow, and such a kindness would have been beyond measure."
Heavenly Venerable Yue played on, her head tilted; a lock of her hair hung down the left side of her neck. Yet the melody came in broken snatches, not truly continuous. She said: "Long Xiao is a feeder on profit. In the age of antiquity he attached himself to the Divine King Boyang and lived thereby; the multitudes made sacrifice to him, and he fed upon the profit of the Divine King Boyang and of the Creator.
"When the Creator perished, Long Xiao could not bear to let the profit go, and yet dared not stake his life upon one throw; so he feigned death and slipped away, hiding behind the Ancestral Court and going on feeding upon the leftovers of the Creator's age.
"In the age of the Ten Heavenly Venerables he attached himself to the Heavenly Court and the Heavenly Alliance, founded the beast realm, and went on feeding upon profit; without any need to fight for his life he preserved his station.
"In the age of Emperor Haotian, Emperor Haotian named him one of the Ten Heavenly Venerables, and his rule over the beast realm was orthodox, and he went on feeding upon profit. Such a being, even should you be victorious in the future and found a new court, would cling to you and go on feeding upon profit. By then, how Heavenly Venerable Mu deals with him will prove a monstrous problem indeed!"
Suddenly she swept the strings into discord, and said with some vexation: "This score simply cannot be played!"
The score she played was the one Shen Mu had given her. It was exceedingly strange; and though Heavenly Venerable Yue was a master of the laws of the zither, a peerless adept of music, yet Shen Mu's score she could never play through to the end.
"It is a piece made by the dead wife of the Fourth Young Master, and the Fourth Young Master of Miluo Palace often plays it in the Long River of Chaos. If we would deal with the Fourth Young Master, we must begin with this piece."
Shen Mu's eyes flickered: "The Fourth Young Master has scarcely any weakness; his one weakness is this piece."
Heavenly Venerable Yue turned over the score and said: "This piece is very hard to play. The difficulty lies not in the score, but in its realm. The realm within these notes is deep beyond reckoning; whoever left this score behind had likely brought music into the Dao through all thirty-six heavens. I have achieved much in music, but I have not cultivated to such a level."
Shen Mu turned to her and asked: "Yue, when will your Zaiji Void attain the Dao?"
Heavenly Venerable Yue lifted her head and smiled serenely: "I feel it is not far off."
Shen Mu was greatly pleased, and laughed: "If you attain the Dao, our chances of victory gain another share."
Heavenly Venerable Yue could not help her curiosity: "And what does Heavenly Venerable Mu think our chances of victory will be, once I attain the Dao?"
"One part." Shen Mu held up a single finger.
She shot him a glare, not knowing whether to laugh or cry: "Only one part after I attain the Dao? Then if I never attain it, have we not even one part?"
Shen Mu nodded: "It is good to shelter beneath a great tree. Emperor Haotian shelters beneath the great tree of the Jade Capital City of the Ancestral Court, and already stands in an invincible position. Thus far we appear able to hold off the Heavenly Court's assaults, but in truth we have not one part in ten! Yet as time goes on, our chances will grow ever higher."